Heartbeat - Kataang Week Day 5
by kataangweek
Summary: (Kataang - Oneshot) Aang begins to grow weak. Katara pretends like it is just a coincidence, but the more she tries to ignore the fact that he's dying, the harder it becomes to bear.


Katara sat on the bed next to her husband.

"You'll get better soon. It's so strange how you suddenly feel this weak."

Aang said nothing.

Katara placed the warm washcloth on Aang's head.

"By tomorrow, you'll be back to saving the world!" Katara said brightly. But as she turned away to place the towel in the kitchen, tears began to stream down her cheeks. Using her healing properties, she could sense that Aang was dying. It didn't make sense. Maybe something was off.

Aang was only 66. It had to be a mistake. Katara kept telling herself that as she made her way to the kitchen. But with each step her heart grew heavy. The more she tried to deny it, the more she realized it was true. Suddenly, millions of memories over many years pulsed through her mind. From the moment she found Aang in the iceberg, to their first kiss in the Cave of Two Lovers, to their wedding. All the memories, good and bad stung Katara right through the heart. The birth of their children. They're first anniversary. The birth of their grandchildren. It all coursed through her veins making her weak in her knees. She fell to the floor in pain. It was not supposed to end like this. It couldn't. Aang was supposed to live old. Aang was supposed to see his grandchildren master airbending. Aang was supposed to live much longer than Katara. Yet somehow, he was dying. She began sobbing as quietly as possible, hoping that for once she was wrong.

"Katara?" Aang shouted weakly from the bedroom.

"Coming!" Katara's could hear her voice catch in her throat. She bended the tears off of her face so she looked relatively dry. She didn't want Aang to see her crying. Plastering a fake smile across her cheeks, she walked back to the room.

"Hi, sweetie. Would you like some more water? Another blanket? Anything to make you more comf-"

"I'm not going to make it, am I?" Aang said softly, knowing the answer before he even asked the question. Katara tried to look calm.

"Of course you'll make it, sweetie! You're only just a bit tired, that's-"

"Katara. Look me in the eyes and tell me that I'm not going to die."

Katara brought herself to look up at Aang.

 _You can do this._ She thought. But the second their eyes met, she began weeping.

"Oh, Katara." Aang sighed, pulling her in. At the moment, only his arms seemed to work. Katara lied on the bed with Aang and cried into his shoulder.

"You can't die, Aang. I can't live without you. I cannot go on if you're not here to go on with me." She said through burning tears. Aang said nothing, he only stroked her and kissed her and took in every last bit of her that he had left. Katara's sadness turned into anger.

"It's not fair, Aang! Avatar Kyoshi lived to be 300 years old! You're not even 70 yet!"

Aang was silent for a moment. He was choosing his words carefully. "When I was in the iceberg, I had to preserve not only my life but Appa's life as well. This took away many years from my lifetime. It's hard trying to live 100 years without food and water. It takes a lot out of you."

Katara looked at Aang. "So you knew this whole time, that you weren't going to live long. Ever since we met?"

Aang frowned at her harsh tone. "Maybe I always knew, but I'm just coming to terms with it now. I didn't want to die early. I pretended like it wasn't going to happen. I convinced myself that it was stupid to even think of. But as soon as I started to grow weak, I knew it wasn't a coincidence."

Katara said nothing for a moment. She just continued to cry.

"What should we do? Should I tell the kids to come? Have them say...good bye?" Katara choked the words out.

"No. They won't get here in time. Just get me the phone."

Katara brought the contraption to her husband and left the room to let him say his goodbyes. She made her way into the Living Area. She picked up a photograph in it's frame. In the photo, a young Aang was holding Tenzin in his arms, staring at him with all the love in the world. In another photo, he held Kya and Bumi in each hand up on airbending scooters. They laughed as they floating above their fathers arms. In the next picture, Katara and Aang were standing on the balcony holding hands. This was taken on the day of their wedding. Katara let out a sob as she recalled the day, still fresh in her mind. It was all happening to fast. She placed her hands on her forehead and sat back on the chair. She just needed to breathe. She sat like that for what felt like an hour until she calmed down. A bit.

"Katara? Tenzin wants to talk to you."

Katara stood up and went in the bedroom, taking the phone from her husband.

"Hi, honey."

"Mom? Mom! Are you okay?"

"I'm okay."

"Dad's too young to die, Mom. He's barely even seen my children airbend."

"Your father is so proud of you, Tenzin. Don't ever forget that. I'll see you soon. I love you."

Katara tried to hold back her tears, but they fell anyway.

She climbed back into bed with Aang and stayed there with him.

A few days later, Aang could barely talk. He was so weak to the point where the only thing he could move was his fingers. But he kept his arm tight around Katara. Toph, Sokka, Suki, and Zuko had all came by to say goodbye to Aang. Suki and Zuko had to come and leave quickly, for they couldn't bear the pain. But Sokka and Toph stayed longer. They both cried, but Toph pretended she didn't.

"I'm not crying, Twinkletoes! I'm sweating! All this death talk is making me feel tired and old. I'll see you soon enough, don't you worry."

But they had all left. It was just Aang and Katara now.

"Aang. I want you to know how much I love you. I love you more than anything."

"I love...you too, Sweetie." Aang said in a forced voice through tears.

"I am so grateful for all the years we had together. I know that wherever I go, you'll always be with me. And I want you to know that I'll never let you go, no matter what. Whatever goes on in the spirit world or wherever, I'll be here for you. You have given me so much happiness, and for that I am eternally thankful. Maybe you did miss 100 years of your life. Maybe you aren't going to live for 300 years. But at least we got to be together. And I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

Aang gave a strangled smiled.

They sat in silence for minutes. Katara breathed hard, but willed herself not to cry.

"Ka-Katara?" Aang finally said.

"What is it, Sweetie?"

"Thanks for penguin sledding with me."

And for the first time in a week, Katara smiled. The words flashed her back to 54 years ago. They echoed his first words to her, and would be his last. She placed her ear on his chest and felt his heartbeat become less frequent. Slowly, the beating declined.

Until there was silence.


End file.
